Shepway District

The surreal and post-apocalyptic landscape of Dungeness home of the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, Derek Jarman's house - Prospect Cottage - and a mixture of semi derelict old converted rail carriage cottages and sleek all black or ultra modern creations.

I have always loved Dungeness and so along with my local Hastings relatives - Auntie Chris, Cousin Helga and Sister Claire - took a trip there by public transport. A bus runs from Hastings to Dymchurch (1hr45mins) from where you can catch the wonderful minature steam railway trains that run from Dymchurch to Dungeness (40 mins). The bus is a double decker so although a long journey it winds its way through some magnificent countryside and small villages on the E Sussex and Kent coasts, the views from the upper deck are great.

Once there its like stepping out into another world; the shingle peninsula is very flat and on one side looms the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station and on the other the shingle falls off to the English Channel, the white cliffs of Dover visible across the water.

A large part of the peninsula is a Nature Reserve and includes over 30% of all UK flora and lots of birds and other fauna, some very rare. The rest is that odd mixture of tumble down buildings, ultra modern arty creations - Holiday homes for the London rich - and abandoned fishing boats and sheds high and dry on the shingle far from the shore.

The Dungeness Railway Station has a cafe called 'The End of the Line'... "more like The End of the World" said Peter, Helga's husband, when he came to pick us up later in the day. The drive back by car was much quicker and we were soon back in Hastings.

All in all a wonderful day :-)Read more